The Daily Worker Newspaper, March 10, 1926, Page 5

COMMUNISTS, THE ONLY ADVOCATES OF OPPRESSED Our Correspondent Tells Why Chinese Rebel By a Worker Correspondent NEW YORK, March 8.—Altho I do not agree’ with certain of the princi- ples of your organization, yet I am obliged to admit that your organ and your party are the real champions of the oppressed nationalities and the national minorities all over the world, You deserve especially much credit for defending the rights of the Chin- ese, Syrians, and other oppressed peo- Ple of the East. Many a man wonders why the Chin- ese “hate” foreigners. As a matter of tact. the Chinaman does not hate fore- igners at all. Several years ago I was in China, and I happened to see just a few of the “civilized” things done by fore- igners to Chinese on Chinese soil. On a hot summer day, at the station of Manchuria (Province of Manchuria northern China,) a cattle transporta- tion train arrived. Later Chinese coolies by the hundred were loaded on this freighter, Each car was so crowded that the passengers did not have a chance to breath. We asked one of the foreign conductors what was the reason for this act. He re- plied: “Chinese and dogs are all alike and if you would live here long enuf you wouldn’t mind it, either.” Later, rumors were spread that several peo- ple died on this train from overcrowd- ing. Of course, the censor suppressed this news. Coolie Thrown Off Train. Going from Manchuria to Harbin we went on the Chinese-Eastern Railroad. At that time, the railroad was not un- der the control of the Soviet govern- ment. The train happened to"be very crowded. The conductor, a foreigner, went around cursing and swearing. Finally he said: “We have too many peopie on this train, some will have to go off.” Immediately he grabbed one Chinese coolie and as the train was traveling at-full-speed threw him off. The cooly fell unconscious on the ground, What really happened to the coolie I do not know, but I think he remained a cripple for. the rest of his life. Several passengers protested against this act. The conductor told them to keep quiet or else they would be arrested and placed before a court martial for interfering with the trans- portation. At Harbin. In Harbin, there in a street called “Chinese Street” and on this street a Chinaman was not allowed to go thru. If anyone did he would be hit ‘by one of the foreign policemen with @ sharp sabre. Frequently I see a Chinaman’s back bleeding from the foreigner’s swords. Ong time a group of Chinamen attempted to go thru this street and they were all arrested for “disturbing the peace” and were fined by the mixed tribunal. Chinese chil- dren in many cases were not allowed to play on the same playground with foreign children. Certain tea-houses and cafes barred Chinese. On every spot the Chinese were persecutéd by the foreigners. The Chinese in general do not hate foreigners, There is no discrimination against religion or color in China. A white man or a white woman may intermarry with a Chinese. Foreigners may become if they wish Chinese citi- zens (a thing which Chinamen can- not do in this country of ours), I spoke to Chinese, played games with them, drank with them and was well treat- ed. Some of our “democrats” espe- Sially those of the south ought to tearn democracy from the “barbarian” Chinese. Different in China. In America when a foreigner says anything about the United States gov- ernment, he is told, “Get back where you came from.” In China the fore- igners not only say it, but fight the Chinese government openly. The American says, “America for Amer- icans” the Chinaman says, “Any good man may live in China.” DON'T LEAVE OUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS WHEN SENDING IN YOUR ARTIGLE Due to the volume of Worker cor- respondence that comes to our office every day and the necessity often to ask for more detailed intormation and send suggestions and instruc tions, we make the following request from our Wi Correspondents: At the top of each page of your manuscript, in the right hand cor- ner, write in plain hand, if you do not use typewriter, your name, a dress and date. At the end of your manuscript add a note stating whether you wish ycur mame to be used and any other instructions re- garding the signing of your article. This Week’s Prizes! r First Prize.—An original DAILY WORKER cartoon by one of the noted American Communist artists, Robert Minor, sae Ellis or Lydia Gibson, , to Second Prize—-Marx Capital, Volume I. i ‘Third Prize.—China's Awakening by James A. Dee e- bon ot every militant worker will want to read, I1LY WORKER me aA cs = ni Page Five i OFFICE WORKERS’ ORGANIZATION CAMPAIGN MET WITH INDIFFERENCE BY THREE NEW YORK LABOR BANKS By a Worker Correspondent. NEW YORK, March 8—In a recent issue of your valued paper, you car- ried an article by a worker correspondent which told of organization activi- ties planned by the Bookkeepers, Stenographers and Accountants’ Union 12646 of New York City. This organization campaign to date has not proved fruitful due to the disinterestedness, if not direct antagonism, of union of- ficials. There are three so-called labor banks in New York City, 1. tion Bank of New York, of which Pet: Munholland,. vice-president. + Mr. Brady, a member of the Photo Engravers Union has been an active, conservative . trades unionist and prominent in Tammany Hall, (no doubt you have heard of this sewer) being the connecting link between the labor leaders and the hall, and practically bossing the jobs. Mr, Munholland for years represent- ed the Patternmakers Union and was 8 “hell bent for glory” trades union- ist. Both are Conservative and reac- tionary. On the board bf directors of the Federation Bank’ are, Sara Conboy, sec.treas, United’ Textile Workers. James P. Holland, ‘formerly represen- tative of the Firemens Union, presi- dent of the N. ¥. State Federation of Labor, now ‘holding down a lucrative political job ‘at $7,500 per year and trimmings; by the grace of Jimmie Walker, Tammany mayor. William Kohn, president Upholster- ers International Union, progressive, formerly president of the farmer-labor party and American labor party, ad- vocating continuously in his monthly Journal, the need for organization among the workers, Joseph P. Ryan, a vice-president of the Longshoremens International Un- ion, recently elected president of the local central body. Frank X. Sullivan, a so-called labor lawyer. John Sullivan, formerly an organ- izer of the brewery workers, president of the local central body, an appointee of another shining light of Tammany, a Mf, Coler in some welfare organiza- tion, and at present, president of the N. Y, State Federation of Labor, and last but not least, Matthew Woll,’a vice-president of the American Federa- tion of Labor, and president of the Photo Engravers ‘Union. With this array of union men, as Prominent officials of the Federation Bank, one would have supposed that their very first duty as union men, would have been) to-see to it, that the office ‘staff ofthe Federation Bank, created and jorganized by the union labor movement, should be members of the: Bookkeepers, Steno- graphers . and Accountants Union 12646, But according to! the report of the B.S, & A. U. officials, their effort to unionize this umion: (?) bank, has been nil, and it isstiearly three years in business. 1-¢ Even Mr, Frayne, the A. F. of L. representative has‘ been unsuccessful 7 his various irre: in this direc. lon, The union men; who deposit union What Did the By a Worker Correspondent SHENANDOAH, Pa., March 8.—Ro- tary clubs, churches, all the institu- tions which thrive on the simplicity of the average yokel emphasize the vast importance of the miners’ gains in this recent struggle. The literate part of the workers who can read enough to absorb the chloroform spooned out to them liberally by the bourgeois press naturally are wise in the mysteries of this-particular agree- ment which less educated miners can- not understand. The illiterate diggers whose knowledge of the world is quite confined to the ability to figure out the amount of their money on pay day are not enthused about the success of the union in the late contest. When approached as to their opinion of the matter, they shrug their shoulders and say nothing, No one is happy, no one is exalted over the outcome, Meanwhile, the present brings up some interesting situations in the hard coal fields which grieves those who are affected. While the strike may be a victory to the union men who held office and do not bear the brunt of daily hardship, it is a dif. ferent story where the actual worker is concerned. eee are many ways of looking at the inner meaning of the contract clause which calls “for co-operation and efficiency between the union and the operators to reduce the expenses of actual operation.” However, the way in which the company chooses to look at the thing is the way it will go. Under the advice of effictency experts, the companies, particularly the P, & R. Coal and Iron Co, of dis- trict No. 9, is putting various exper!- ments to the test in order to increase production without increase of opera- tion, As this miracle can be achieved | The Federa- er J, Brady is president and John J. funds and handle union made money, (for all government employes mak- ing the money are union), non-union office workers, and without a protest. Would they tolerate tie same condition on their jobs? 2, The International Union Bank. This is a creation by the Internationa] Ladies Garment Workers Union of which Mr. Morri igman, president of the I. L. G. W . Was the presi- dent until recently succeeded by Mr. Abraham Baroff, sec.-treas. of the I. 14s. Wi, Almost the same story fits here. The office workers employed are not interested in any union. Frantic ef- forts have been made to induce these officials to carry out their policy of unionism, with no success, While some of the office workers are mem- bers of the B.S. & A. U., it is a con- tinual struggle to get them to pay dues, 8. Amalgamated Bank of New York. Here we have an institution founded by the Amalgmated Clothing Work- ers of America. One would suppose, that president Hillman and Secretary Schlossberg would be first in line, as good honest to god union men, to have union office workers employed in their bank, par- ticularly as they claim to be progres- sive, have persistently fought non- union employers in their trade, and on the platform have voiced the ne- cessity of union organization and co- operation. But again we find, that the office workers employed in their bank, with few exceptions, are non-union and these officials are satisfied with this condition. The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Bank is in the same ‘posi- tion with the Federation Bank. Can you imagine, how officials of real labor unions, can for a moment tolerate such inconsistency and is it a wonder, that the great organizing campaign of the American Federation of Labor, so much advertised at the Atlantic Gity convention, has gone on the rocks? (Mr, Editor. I am a member of the B, 8. & A. U., but since it means my decapitation to be known as corre- sponding with you, I must beg you to take the above information as the truth and if you need verification, I am confident, that neither president Bright or secretary Bohm, assuredly the latter, will not deny the truth of the statement. Yours is the only la- bor paper that would dare publish the facts.) Miners Win? only at the expense of a miner's blood and bone, the result is obvious. Rate sheets are being thoroly studied with the result that miners are being paid the minimum rates on all work undertaken by contracts, Variations in rates usually tended to benefit the miner who was paid for any odd work which had to be done in connection with the job. Al this is gradually being changed. The odd work, tho hard and even killing, is now figured as being incidental to the main job held under contract and as such is either not paid for at all or paid at the lowest rates which the sheets allow. By the simple expedient of rushing the collieries for seven hours it has been found possible to produce the output of eight hours in the past. Hence, many collierles are working on @ seven-hour schedule and are paid for seven hours, altho the output re- mains as high as previously. The men lose one hour daily which creates a loss of from $150 to $250 yearly to the average day laborer. Naturally, there is much dissatisfaction but what can be done about it? Since the miners have promised to co-oper- ate with the companies in all schemes of efficiency, here they are faced with a problem of pure efficiency which their contract does not permit them to fight. bps fewest possible men are em- ployed and despite rumors to the contrary, jobs are unbuyable, Mule drivers who pull the coal cars inside the mines are compelled to carry jacks with them at all times and if a car jumps the track, they are ex- pected to jack it on, This 1s effi. elency, Bosses speak to the miners in wevere tones, advising them for their own good to work their full hours. From all sides the miner be- gins to feel certain pressures brot to bear upon his daily existence whi certainly are not tokens of victory, ;/ What have the miners won? The miners talk less now of their victory than they did on the day when the famous Scranton agreement was sign- ed. They are simply working and waiting to see.what will be. Only ie future, whose ironic signs mar he beauty ofthe, horizon, can tell Just what be deal with} FURNITURE AND CABINET MAKERS’ CONDITIONS BAD Bosses > aa Pay Starvation Wages By a Worker Correspondent NEW YORK, March 8.—Due to lack of organization the conditions of the furniture fiti¥hers and cabinet mak- ers, repaitmén. and polishers are get- ting worse anid worse. Most of the workers in “this trade work in the large furniture and department stores for wages that range from $15 to $20 a week, The boss fixes the hours to suit himself.” During the busy season—which is about 4 months—all of the workers are speeded-t “tip turning out great amounts of Work. When the slack season comé¢s around hundreds. are dumped onto the streets to seek work. When an ad is inserted in one of the newspapers for a finisher or a pol- isher dozens’ of men gather at the place all expetting to get the job, The. bosses, in these slack periods call the workers into their office and interview each ommé in private. The boss, when he has him in the room, asks him if He {is a union man, whether he is married and what wages he will work for. The worker who does not ‘belong to the union and is willing to work for a low wage gets the job. Many of the workers think that when they go into the boss’ office and get the job after promising to work for a small wage that they have done a@ smart thing. All they are doing is cutting their own throat. The boss is thus able to keep thé workers work- ing at low wages and they do not dare ask for sho’ thours. There is Only oe way that the fur- niture and \cabinet workers can get better conditions in their industry and that is thru the organization of a union. By orfanizing into unions, the furniture and cabinet workers will be able to shorten their hours, in- crease theirwages and take steps to prevent the bosses from browbeating them at every-opportunity, Be a worker'correspondent. It pa: for the workers. It Hurts the bos: NEGRO TEACHERS NOT ACCEPTED IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS Equality Boasts Again Show Up From a Teacher-Correspondent. One of America’s pet patriotic myths is that we have something which is the envy and desire of every poor human who was unfortunate enough to have been born elsewhere, equal opportunity, It is offered to all ~—black or white, rich or poor, young or old, This thing is built upon a great, solid, impregnable, inviolable rock named the public school. Look at Lincoln—a poor boy who went to school, studied, and became president. But, what is more remarkable, look at Booker T. Washington, a Negro, who, because the public school of- fered him an’ education, became an educator and writer of national fame. While you are looking at Booker, look long and Kard. His chief service seems to be to the capitalist class, which uses him as an “example” to disarm criticism. It pushes him up close to the face of society so that it cannot see the mass of contradic- tory facts bheind him. He is the jus- tification of every injustice to the Ne- gro on the educational field. Facts disclése that there is dis- crimination ageinst members of the Negro race even when they have struggled to the position of teachers. The other day..a Negro teacher sent as a substitute to a south side school in Chicago in Which there is um moataay | reentage of Negro children, school that day the principal eo her that she would not be needed the next day, tho it was known that the regular Soncher: would not return, A white women was a to that room the next day, but another Ne- gress was sent to fill a second va- cancy in the same sclrool, At noon the second substitute was asked to leave and the center which sends substitutes was requested to be care- ful not to send another Negress to that school. Similar discriminations are common. No protest is raised anywhere in the school system, Not even the Chicago Teach Federation makes an at- tempt at remedying this condition, It will be the function of the progressive ‘teachers of Chicago to demand that any person wi is qualified for a teaching position be given complete and unhampered opportunity to earn her living. i) “The pen ie mightier than the sword,” provided you know how to use it, Come down and learn how in the worker HUGHES’ PLAN FOR CONSOLIDATION OF STATE DEPARTMENTS IN NEW YORK ENDANGERS THE WORKERS NEW YORK, March 8.—The Hughes report on the consolidation of state | departments is a menace to the organized labor movement of New York state. It means the concentration of greater government power into the hands of the executives and swifter action against organized labor, whenever the work- ers of New York are engaged in a struggle for the improvement of their con- ditions. The proposal for the establishment of the state police as an independent, military body, independent in its actions even of the governor of the state, creates a force of cossacks to intimi-¢- date pickets and to break strikes. The report plainly declares that this State Police which came into exist- ‘IGOR’ ARRANGES ence “against the strong opposition of | a@ part of the community should have | its tenure protected by la’ and “not 1 be subject to the varying currents of popular feeling.” State Police Menace. This means that it shall be entirely | independent of the great mass of peo- ple of New York state and beyond any check or control by workers. We can expect from such a State Police increasing interference in‘strikes, not | only such as took place in breaking the streetcar men’s strike in Buffalo in 1921 but interference on a: larger | scale, From such a State Police the same treatment can be expected as that suffered under the infamous State Constabulary of Pennsylvania, which has already produced such ex- cellent results for the capitalist class | in breaking strikes, clubbing pickets and destroying organized labor. A More Efficient Bureaucracy. The whole project of the consolida- tion, hailed as a step in economy, will not reduce the army of bureaucrats in the state machinery. On the con- trary, this bureaucracy will only be used much more efficiently and under greater dictatorial power of the, gov- ernor against labor. The proposal for the four-year term for governor is a blow to the so-called “democracy” of America. It removes still farther the state machinery from any check by the masses of people so that the governor can act with im- punity in the interests of capital, with- out even being called to such little accounting in his activities as takes place in the periodic elections. The governor and the state legislature, which in the last years have shown themselves as ready agents of the cap- italist class in their denial of any interest in the conditidn of labor, will only be so much more subservient to the lobbyists of Big Business and will grant to these lobbyists and Big Busi- ness greater control over the state machinery, denying to labor even the little crumbs and petty concessions which they throw out to it from time to time today. Labor Party the Answer. The entire proposal for concentra- tion of government is a challenge to labor, which labor must take up swiftly, if it does not wish to see a state machinery imposed upon it that will club it into submission any time it raises its voice for the maintenance or improvement of its present stand- ards. The organization of a labor party by the trade unions and other bodies of labor must be the answer to this challenge to labor, Economic Council of Roumania Recommends New Export Policy (Special to The Dally Workerd preme economic council has adopted recommendations which it is pected the cabinet will: approve, en- trely reversing the economic volley of Roumania. The policy for the past four years has been to restrict exports by virtu- ally prohibitive export duties. The object was to keep down the cost of living. The new recommendations are for a drastic reduction on the export taxes upon grain, oil, lumber and live stock. The decreases are to go into effect upon approval by the cabinet. The electoral losses suffered by the Bratiano administration and the in- tensifying discontent, the result of the prolonged financial crisis, have Prompted the departure. There are large stocks of oil and lumber on hand as well as a considerable surplus from last year’s grain harvests. Dr. Limburg Fails to Form Dutch Cabinet (Special to The Dally Worker) AMSTERDAM, March 8.—Holland, too, has its cabinet crisis. Dr. Lim- burg has failed to solve the question of whether the country shall be rep- resented at the Vatican and has been excused from his mandate to form a cabinet. The country has been with- out a responsible parliamentary head or over three months. The catholic party is determined up- on representation while the oppposi- tion is equally opposed. The groups are nearly equally balanced in the parliament. Two Die in. Break, LORAIN, Ohio, March 8.—Two men were killed and three freight cars were burned early today when a Lake Shore electric baggage train left the tracks on a curve three miles west of here and crashed into a concrete rail culvert, The dead are: Edward Crump, Lorain, motorman, and Herbert oe ner Avon, conduc: r, They were alone in the train, An overturned “stove in one of the rs set fire-to~the wreckage, The en were caught in a twisted mass and” Yurned"to death, ex: | MIDWEST MEETING HERE FOR MARCH Will Colonize Russian Jews on Land for the Aid of Jewish tion ‘in Seviet Russia, or the as it {8 called for short, will hold a midwestern conference in Chi- cago March 28.\°The purpose of ‘this organization is to aid in the transfer of the Jews in Russia from the cities {to the country districts where they, |wish to take np farming. The Society | Coloni | “Ieor,” | The competition of the socialized lindustries: and the increasingly swift |absorption by the state and co-operat- lives of the entire field of petty trad- \ing is forcing thousands of Jews into jother occupations. The Soviet gov- ernment.has opened wide the doors of opportunity both in industry and agriculture which under the czar’s yrule had been closed against them. A hundred thousand Jewish families will, according to all indications, soon be on Russian farms. A Representative Body. The “Icor” was organized in New York at a national conference held last May and attended by the repre- sentatives of hundreds of Landsman- schaften,» labor unions, Workmen’s Circle ‘branches, culture clubs and other ‘associations. There are now 65 towns)and cities in America with “Icor” branches. Form $1,000,000 Corporation. A $1,000,000 corporation has been formed by the “Icor” under the laws of New York. Stock has been issued of a par’ yalue of $10. By special permission of the Soviet government the Jewish colonists in Russia are issu- ing mortgages on both their movable and immovable properties as secur- ity for thé loans which run from three to five Years. The “Ozet” (Society for “Settling Poor Jews on the Soil) is the’ body which acts for the “Icor” in the Soviet Union and takes care of all thé érédit arrangements. Backall to Tour Midwest. Arrangements for the midwestern confereétice of the “Icor” are in the hands. of, Dy.. E. Wattenberg, the or- ganization’s general secretary. Mor- ris Backall, a member of the national executive committee will tour the midwest preparatory to the conven- tion, His “dates will be as follows: March 19 and 20, Sioux City; March 21, Omaha;“March 22, St. Joseph, Mo.; March 23 and 24, Kansas City; March 25, St. Louis; March 26, Indianapolis. On the evening of March 27, just BUCHAREST, March 8.— The su-|P7i0r to the convention, a grand theat- rical performance will be given at the Eighth Street Theater. The pro- ceeds of the affair will go to the col- onization work. Thirty-Three Workers Jailed in New Reign of Terror in Hungary BUDAPEST, Hungary, March 8.— Hungarian police are raiding the homes of members of labor organiza- tions, the headquarters of unions, in a new reign of terror inaugurated by the Bethlen government, The head- quarters of the socialist labor party were raided, a number of {ts mem- bers arrested, whatever literature the police could lay their hands on was confiscated and whatever was too heavy to carry away was, destroyed. Thirty-two workers and Stephen Wagi of the socialist labor party were arrested and thrown into jail, All of the workers arrested are accused of participating in a plot to overthrow the present Bethlen government. Warnings have been issued that at the least sign of any demonstration, parade, or meetings in the streets or halls to protest against the actions of the Bethlen government, the police and soldiers will shoot to kill. Must Declare Income, French Chamber Votes (Special to The Daily Worker) PARIS, March 8.—The government suffered a minor defeat in the cham- ber of deputies today when that body adopted an amendment to the financial project requiring obligatory income tax declarations, The vote was 302 to 195. Finance Minister Doumer had de- manded that the amendment be sent back to the finance commission, as the senate had previously rejected it, but he was overruled by the chamber’s vote, tch the Saturday Magazine 8 for new features every " a good issue to give to wWOrkere—— OF |. March ISSUE THE Workers | Monthly OUT NOW! CONTAINING: MARX, ENGELS and LENIN on The Paris Commune Asplendid historical ree view of a great event in workingclass by A. Trachtenberg history Imperialism and the Amer- ican Working Class A view of the develop- ment of American im- perialism and its effect on American labor by Jay Lovestone LENIN— The Mountain Eagle A brilliant appreciation of our great leader by a close co-worker I. Stalin The Raisins in the Filipino Cake Facts and figures of one phase of American imperialist domination by Harry Gannes ARTICLE! by iS T. J. O'Flaherty Sam Darcy Alfred Knutson H. M. Wicks Bertram D. Wolfe Gregory Zinoviev Manuel Gomez PHOTOGRAPHS AND CARTOONS by Maurice Becker A. De Champs Subscription: $2 a Year WORKERS MONTHLY, 1113 W. Washington Blvd., Chicago, III, Enclosed months subscription. $1.25 Six Months for .. ait, See eet Se nee et he eee leet toaea ee